


make myself a king

by spooky_time



Category: Supernatural, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:28:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21613843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spooky_time/pseuds/spooky_time
Summary: imagine waking up, injured, without your memories in an unknown world. for ava-jane winchester, this was her reality. upon coming to in a world so unlike her own, she must fight foes never crossed before, struggle with relationships, death and.. finding out who she truly is.
Relationships: Negan (Walking Dead)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 9





	1. i don't believe in devils

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! i know this chapter is a bit slow, but i kinda wanted to set up the premise of the story, introduce my characters. i have quite a bit planned for poor ava winchester - this is only the beginning!

The sky was a canvas, painted a dark indigo, dotted with stars, a large, shining moon cast a pale glow upon the scene. Two men stood, shoulder to shoulder, tears burning their eyes, as they watched a funeral pyre burn, flames reached upwards towards the heavens. A heavy and tense silence settled between the two. Neither could find the appropriate words to speak at such a solemn occasion - yes, they’d lost people, their mother, father, friends.. None of those deaths had been their fault, not like this one. They were the reason their little sister was dead. The Winchesters were accustomed to loss, but this.. This just felt different. 

* * *

Ava woke with a start, her body immediately objected to the movement. The pain was unimaginable, so much so, she almost wished whatever, or whoever had inflicted the wound upon her, had finished the job. Struggling to stand, Ava took a cursory glance at her surroundings. At first, nothing had really stood out. The alley was dark, littered with trash, overturned cans. She could hear a faint, but unintelligible sound in the distance. None of this had been particularly alarming, what did set her on edge however, was.. She couldn’t quite recall how she’d gotten here. In fact, Ava couldn’t remember anything.

That’s when the panic set in, she began glancing around the scene, patting her body down, hissing in pain when her hand brushed against several large gashes. She found a gun, three knives and a wallet. She assumed each item was hers, however none of that particularly helped right now. Stumbling her way through the dark alley, Ava caught herself from tripping a few times. In her clumsy attempts to find her way around, she must’ve reopened the wounds on her abdomen. Her walking slowed as the pain caught up to her once more  Rounding the corner, Ava stood at the threshold of the street. Green eyes took in the scene in front of her; cars with smashed windows, store fronts with broken and boarded entry ways. She glanced the other way, immediately catching sight of a meandering figure. 

“Hey!” Her voice echoed throughout the empty street, the figure stopped and turned her way. While she couldn’t exactly make out their features at her distance, Ava felt relief flooding her veins when they began walking her way.. However, the closer they got, the more unnatural Ava noticed their gait was. It was only when they crossed through the streetlight did she see the truth. The person she’d called out to, wasn’t a person at all.. At least not anymore, the flesh of their face was ripped away, an eye dangled from its socket. Ava took a step back, then another. As she was scrambling to get away, someone grabbed her from behind, instincts kicked in, and she reached for her knife. 

“Come on!” 

Ava couldn’t run very fast, something the stranger quickly realized. Before she knew what was happening, Ava was helping the unknown person push various heavy objects against a door. It was only when they seemed satisfied with the work the two had done, did he fully turn her way. 

“Now, you mind tellin’ me what the  _ fuck  _ you were doing out there?” Ava unconsciously took a step back, her knees almost gave out from beneath her. She let out a low groan and placed a pale, shaking hand against her side.

“Shit, you’re hurt? How bad?” Ava couldn’t speak, her tongue felt heavy in her mouth.

“I.. don’t know,” words slurred together, darkness began encroaching on the outer fields of her vision. The last thing she saw was the ground rapidly approaching then  _ nothing.  _

When Ava awoke once more, she was laying on an old couch, her whole being ached, the stranger from before was now leaning against the wall, his head tilted back, she could sorta make out his features. He looked to be about her age, maybe a few years older, his dark hair caught the light filtering through the boarded window. Ava slid her legs off the couch and sat up. It didn’t necessarily feel great being upright again, she almost preferred the dreamless sleep she’d been blessed with. 

“You mind telling me why you were out there?”

“I don’t know.”

A heavy silence followed, finally his eyes cracked open, his head rolled her way, an incredulous look over took his features. 

“Who are you?”

“Who are  _ you? _ ” Ava furrowed her brow, ignoring his retort, she glanced around. The building they were in wasn’t in the best shape, which only lent to her confusion even more. She had no idea what was going on. Waking up with no memory, being attacked by..  _ whatever  _ the hell that’d been. She truly wasn’t in the mood to play the whole back and forth thing.

“Ava-Jane”

“Justin,” he eyed her for a moment, his gaze falling to the slowly growing crimson stain on her shirt. 

“What happened?”

“I have no idea.” 

“Do you know  _ anything, _ ” Ava scoffed, off put by his blunt, and frankly rude question. She said nothing in response, instead, standing. Still feeling a bit unsteady on her feet, Justin stood as well, his gray eyes never leaving her swaying figure. Another silence settled between the two, the man merely sighed, picked up his weapons and began pulling the furniture away from the door. Ava soon joined him, still not saying a word.  As the two stepped outside, Justin spared a glance in each direction before motioning for her to follow. The two walked together, the only sound was their shoes hitting the pavement. When he noticed her slowing, he’d stop too. They continued this pattern for a while. 

“We can stop longer if you need to,” it was Justin who’d broken the silence. Ava’s skin was severely lacking in color - though the woman was already fairly pale. He could tell the wound on her side was hurting far worse than she’d let on. Ava shook her head and continued walking. 

“Where are we going?”

“A camp, just outside of town.” 

That had been the extent of their conversation - they continued their walk in silence. It took a few hours, but the two had finally arrived at the aforementioned camp. Justin was greeted with mirth, Ava however, was suddenly very aware of the stares. 

“Stay here, I’m gonna go get someone,” he vanished between a large r.v and truck. Ava uncomfortably idled in place. Waiting for the man to reappear - he hadn’t really given her much information, just a vague request. As Ava began reconsidering her choice, Justin reappeared, a tall man, outfitted in a sheriff’s uniform behind him. Ava took a few steps back, doing her best to keep a decent distance between the two. 

“It’s alright.. Justin told me what happened.. s’your name?”

“What’s  _ your  _ name?” 

“I asked you first..”

“I asked second.” The man sighed, glanced at Justin, who just shook his head. He left the two alone, once more vanishing between the cars.

“Rick Grimes.” 

“Ava Winchester.”


	2. cause i raised this hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! i know this chapter is a bit rough and all over the place. it only gets a bit more wild from here.  
> i promise negan is gonna make an appearance soon! just bare with me for a few more chapters, then we get into the reeaally angsty stuff. comments are appreciated, who knows, maybe your ideas will help steer the direction the story goes in!

**“Ava!”** her body flung itself upwards, chest heaving, a thin sheen of sweat covered her body. Green eyes frantically took in the room around her, the scene was a familiar one. Gray walls plastered in polaroids and posters, a string of christmas lights hung above her bed. Ava tossed the covers aside and glanced around. Standing on weary legs, she took a few shakey steps towards the door. Ava quickly shoved down the trepidation and yanked it open. The hallway was lit with fluorescent lighting, voices echoed throughout the building, and a small smile crossed her features. She felt her feet carry her forwards, quickly navigating the bunker, when Ava-Jane broke the threshold, she was met with two figures, their backs to the entryway. 

“Geez, can’t even greet your favorite little sister? ” her brother’s forms swiveled her way. Their faces painted in shock. They took a few steps forward.

“Dean?” Sam’s voice was barely a whisper, hazel gaze side eyeing his eldest brother. He only hummed in response, his gaze was still glued on the girl standing in front of them.

“You.. you see her too, right?”

“Yeah, Sammy… I do.” Ava furrowed her brow and took a few more steps forward, slowly closing the gaps between the three.

“Boys, are you alright in there?” A woman rounded the corner, a shock of curly blonde hair, a face Ava had only seen behind photo frames. The tension in the room was slowly building in crescendo, the young Winchester’s gaze bounced between the three surprised faces before she spoke again.

“Mom?” That seemed to break the group from its reverie. Sam and Dean were on her within minutes, arms wrapped tightly around her body, she could feel tears wetting her shoulder. While Ava was never one to shy away from affection, she wiggled her way away from the embrace and took a step back. 

“Can some please explain what the _hell_ is going on?”

“You.. you died, _months ago._ We _burned_ the body,” she turned towards Dean for confirmation. The look on his face was enough. Ava let out a scoff, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I.. I need a drink.”

* * *

Ava downed the first three glasses of whiskey, and on her fourth, she finally turned to face her family. Sam and Dean had taken a seat at the library tables, her mom still stood, leaning against a pillar, her eyes had never left her daughter’s form. She herself was still reeling, trying to figure out how this could have possibly happened. Hell, Mary was still trying to figure out how _she_ had come back.

“Alright, fill me.” Pulling out the seat adjacent to her brothers, they nodded stiffly. Much like Mary, they too hadn’t stopped their staring. Ava was beginning to get a little irritated. She wanted answers, and their gawking wasn’t getting them anywhere.

“You died,” Dean reiterated, stressing the last word. “You were gone. We burned your body, there’s no way you could’ve come back.” Ava huffed, narrowing her gaze at the table.

“ _Dead doesn’t mean much these days.”_ She immediately froze at her own words. A numbness began spreading throughout her body, darkness began closing in from her peripherals, her family lurched forward, Sam and Dean knelt by her side. Were they talking? Ava couldn’t tell, her lids forcefully slammed shut, the paralysis overtaking, she could feel herself falling.

* * *

Before she could feel her body hitting the ground, Ava’s eyes snapped open. She was actually falling, and before she could do anything to slow her descent, the air had been knocked out of her lungs, head collided with the ground. Ava let out a low moan. Her vision was swimming and a very sharp ache permeated her body, the woman sat up and took in her surroundings once more. 

**“Ava!”** A scream forced her attention upwards, a young girl was staring down at her, tears were forming in her eyes. Another moan escaped her throat, forcing herself to stand was a rather unpleasant experience, but, as the telltale shuffle of walkers neared, she had two choices; do her best to scale the tree once more or fight the dead. Both were barely plausible, Ava could hardly stand, but knew in the pit of her stomach that while the tree was a formidable foe, facing the shambling bodies wasn’t an option. Huffing, she did her best to find a decent groove in the wood, digging her boot into the soft bark, Ava leapt upwards and hooked her hands on the lowest branch. Pain echoed deep within her frame, grunting from the effort, she eventually managed to pull herself up and onto the limb. It was slow work, pain slowing her ascension, once she’d rejoined Sophia, the little girl hooked her arms around her center. Ava sucked in a deep breath, knowing she didn’t mean to brush against her still healing stomach. Despite the pain, she wrapped her arms around the tiny figure and did her best to offer comfort to the now sobbing child. She had no fucking clue what just happened, and honestly, didn’t wanna think about. Running her hands through Sophia’s blonde hair, a face flashed in her memory. An older woman leaning against a pillar. The image was gone almost as soon as it came, and Ava was left wondering who she was.

“It’s alright kiddo, it’s alright,” placing a gentle kiss on her temple. Sophia said nothing, only nuzzling into her form once more. 

* * *

Ava slowly roused with the morning, blinking the sleep from her eyes, she let out a yawn before gently shaking the still sleeping child. “C’mon kiddo,” Sophia nodded, Ava was bound and determined to find their way back today. As they descended the tree, a weak limb snapped and once more, she found herself crashing downwards.

“Fuck!” A sharp pain drew her attention to the lower half of her body, the loose branch had viciously ripped through her left thigh, Ava let out another expletive, almost forgetting about the child still perched in the tree above.

“Does it ever fucking stop?!” 

“Ava?” 

“Give me a second Soph,” the bush in front of her rustled, _jesus fucking christ,_

“Apparently fucking not..”

Ava did her best to push her body to stand, but, honestly, couldn’t find the willpower to do so. As the sound drew closer, Ava fumbled for her gun and aimed it towards the noise. The figure that’d emerged wasn’t a rotting corpse, instead, it was Daryl. Ava let out a loud, relieved sigh and let her torso fall back to the ground.

“Thank fucking God.” He offered a hand, which she graciously accepted, once she was standing, Daryl moved to help Sophia from the tree.The little girl immediately moved to Ava’s side. Her eyes fell to the newly acquired wound. 

“What the hell happened?”

“Oh, y’know, took a leisurely stroll through the woods, but I’d figure I’d spice it up abit by impaling my limb with a tree branch, y’know, the usual.”

“Smartass.”

“Well obviously Dixon,” she did her best to smirk, but Ava was sure it appeared more akin to a wince. 

* * *

As the trio stumbled through the woods, Daryl had begun supporting Ava, her arm draped around his shoulder. The two said nothing, just continued on. About an hour into their trek, Ava had to stop. She slipped from the man’s safe support and tossed her body carelessly against the trunk of a tree. She’d quickly come to regret the decision to stop, as a lone walker came shambling from the treeline. It was easily taken care of, but two, three, _four_ more came after. Slowly but surely the group was being closed in on by a small herd. Ava swore loudly and glanced between Daryl and Sophia. 

“Well, go you idiots!” She stumbled away from the tree and shoved the two in the opposite direction.

“What?”

“Fuckin’ go!” The tone in her voice left no room for discussion. Sophia let out a cry, but she’d already turned to face the dead, two blades held tightly, knuckles turning white. The odds of her walking away from this were slim, but she knew this was the right thing. A thought came crawling from the deepest depths of her memory, something about saving people? No.. that wasn’t it. _Hunting things, saving people..._ Her blade plunged the skull of the first walker, _yeah, that sounds right._


	3. i've been the last one standing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, i'm pretty proud of this chapter! it's a bit of a peek into her life as a hunter, what happened, and as promised, the entrance of our favorite bad guy; negan! our main character's been through hell and it only gets worse - hold on kids, it's a bumpy ride!
> 
> also, wanna thank the kudos being left, and an extra special thanks to my first comment/commenter: JDMsNegan. i gotta say, your idea was fabulous, and will definitely be something that i incorporate into the story! and again, if you, the reader, have any ideas, feel free to share them, who knows, it might steer the direction in which the story goes in!

Her lithe frame barely filled the large bed, Sam, Dean and Mary Winchester were spread sporadictly throughout the room. Under the glow of her christmas lights, Ava-Jane looked paler than usual, her cheeks sunken, sallow, dark circles claimed territory under her eyes lending credence to her sickly appearance. Dean watched in horror as a large crimson stain began spreading under her thin sheet, he looked between his family before lurching forward and ripping the blanket away from her body. Her left thigh was bleeding profusely, a wound they hadn’t noticed before. 

Ava let out a strangled groan and tossed onto her side. Her body convulsed, twisting around, contorting into uncomfortable looking positions. Pulled from her shock, Mary quickly moved to her daughter’s side, she motioned for Sam to do the same, the two held down her wrist, still, her legs kicked, fighting against an unseen force. Dean who’d received a strong hit to the chest stumbled backwards. 

They all shared a desperate look as Ava’s convulsion continued, tears her streaming down her face, blood bubbled past pale, cracked lips. More cuts began appearing on her features, the skin around her right eye turned a deep, angry red. Something was happening, something they couldn’t help her fight against. When the struggle abruptly ended, a solemn feeling quickly took hold of the room. It was Dean who acted first, running to the bathroom, he returned with a first aid kit. The silence was deafening, Ava wasn’t moving, her breathing was shallow.

Her figure jerked again, but.. It was different from the horrific spasms, she lurched upwards, pulled her body off the bed and emptied the contents of her stomach into the trash. When Ava was done heaving, she closed her eyes and wiped her lips. Blood and bile making a terrible mixture on the back of her hand. It took a few minutes before she realized she wasn’t alone. Sam watched her hand feel along the waistband of her torn jeans before realizing what she’d been looking for, wasn’t there. 

“Ava?” It was Mary who spoke, slowly approaching her daughter’s disheveled body. 

“Where am I?” her voice was hoarse, quiet, her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. 

“You’re home,”  _ oh Sammy…  _ Ava’s eyes opened quickly, she took a frantic look around. Dean almost recoiled at the wild look on her face. He quelled his own fear by kneeling beside her.

“What happened?”

“I.. I don’t know. I can’t remember anything. I feel like shit though.” 

“Look like shit, too, kiddo,” Ava couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. For some unknown reason, she had this longing in her heart, the feeling of missing the same people who were surrounding her. With no warning, she tackled both Dean and Mary in a hug and upon noticing Sam hadn’t knelt down yet, yanked his shirt downwards, the tall man joined the awkward floor hug. Ava couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her mouth, tears,  _ happy tears  _ were streaming down her face.

“I don’t know why, but god damn I miss you guys.”

* * *

She was on her sixth beer in the last hour, nursing the cold bottle. Ava let out a long sigh before finishing the drink off. The young Winchester could feel their eyes on her, burning with questions they wanted to ask, but Ava couldn’t fucking answer. 

“So I died?” Ava began, she swung her legs of table’s bench and slowly made her way back to the fridge. Upon opening it, she let out a huff.

“And we’re out of beer,” eyeing the tequila, Ava snatched it up and meandered back towards the kitchen table. 

“Yeah..” Sam cleared his throat and shared a look with Dean, wondering if they should just be honest, when he looked across the table at his little sister, her brow quirked, a shot already poured. 

“So.. what happened?” Sam was reluctant to tell Ava the truth. 

“It was a hellhound. You heard it before we did, you.. Uh-” Sam swallowed the lump in his throat. “You pushed me out of the way. It was  _ my  _ fault you died.” Ava watched a single tear slip down his cheek, she scoffed, leaned forward and swiped the tear from his face, wiping her thumb against his shirt, Ava sank into her seat and shook her head.

“Shut up. It’s not your fault. I did what I did. Obviously it didn’t stick.. Or.. I dunno.” Ava shook her head and tossed back the alcohol, it left a warm trail, landing in her empty stomach. The burn was familiar, it felt good, warming her from the inside out.

“It was though, you.. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I did, and I would do it again.” She refilled the shot glass, “but uh.. Mom? You were.. _ gone..”  _ The attention fell to Mary, she looked between her kids and pinched her shoulders upwards.

“I was..but..-” Ava tossed back the second shot. Her world began to spin, there was a pinch in her left arm. 

“What the.. Fu-” Words slurred together, Ava’s body fell slack, the tension released and she felt her body crash onto the floor.

* * *

Upon reawakening, Ava-Jane was blinded by bright lights. She blinked, trying to clear the fog from her thoughts. A strange feeling was lingering in her body, the remnants of a dream, alcohol, unfamiliar faces.. Letting out a groan, she brought her hand up to head, flinching when her palm brushed against a thin bandage. 

“Glad to see you’re awake.” Ava’s attention turned towards the left, a man wearing a lab coat was flipping through a few files at his desk. 

“Who the fu-” She was abruptly cut off when the door swung open. A tall man filled the doorway. He was attractive, but..  _ familiar,  _ dark hair, salt and pepper beard. His eyes glinted, lurking with something.. mischievous, her stomach churned and Ava quickly looked for a bucket. 

“Welcome to the land of the livin’ darlin,” a wolfish grin spread across his features. Ava furrowed her brow. As he stepped into the room, she noticed the rather  _ dangerous  _ looking weapon. A barbed wire wrapped bat hung over his shoulder, instead of shrinking away from the imposing figure, Ava-Jane slid off the bed, her legs felt unsteady underneath, and a sharp pain almost caused her to collapse to the ground. The doctor tutted disapprovingly and motioned for her to get back onto the bed. 

“You shouldn’t be up, you were in pretty bad shape when our men found you.”

“You fuckin’ looked like you got hit by a god damn bus-” The man interjected. The predatory grin never left his face. Ava fought back the childish urge to stick her tongue out. 

“How about I push you outta a fuckin’ tree and into a ditch. You probably wouldn’t look so hot yourself.”

“Oh baby girl,  _ I always look good.” _

“How about I shove that baseball bat up your ass-” The doctor cleared his throat, turning both their attention elsewhere.

“You’re gonna wanna take it easy for a few days. Your.. uhm, fall reopened the gashes on your side, the leg looked close to infection, you’ve probably got a few cracked ribs. I’ve cleaned and bandaged everything, but I want you to come back by tomorrow so we can take a closer look at uh.. Everything.” The doctor gave the two a quick glance before slipping through the doorway.

“ _ You  _ got fucked up out there.”

“And  _ you  _ are getting on my nerves,” Ava mocked his cadence, his lips quirked upwards, he closed the gap between them in just a few steps, face dangerously close to her own. His warm breath spread across her face, Ava could see the flecks of gold in his dark eyes.

“Darlin’ you are  _ somethin’  _ else. I’m dyin’ to know, what  _ is  _ your name?”

“What’s yours?” She never broke eye contact, challenging a man wielding a deadly blunt object wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but Ava never claimed to be  _ that  _ intelligent. 

“I asked you first,” 

“I asked second,  _ darlin’ _ ” A heavy silence settled in the room, a battle of who was gonna look away first ensued, and when it became clear that Ava wasn’t gonna back down, another wolfish grin tugged on the man’s features, the tip of his tongue slowly tracing his bottom lip, he laughed softly.

“Hi, I’m Negan.” Ava quirked a brow, forest colored eyes never leaving his.

“Hi..-” She leaned forward a bit more, the tips of their noses were almost touching at this point. 

_ “I’m leaving now. _ ” As Ava went to brush passed Negan, his hand shot out, grabbing her arm in a tight vice-like-grip.

“It don’t work like that doll face.” Ava suppressed a sneer, and met his unfaltering gaze once more.

“You are one helluva lady, but you’re also gettin’ on  _ my  _ nerves.”

“What are you gonna do about it? 

“Get us - “ he leaned in close, his beard brushing against her cheek, she could feel his breath tickling the outer lobe of her ear, “-a fuckin’ drink. We got lots to talk about.” Negan pulled away slowly, his dark eyes never left her face, honestly, he was just looking for any signs of the woman being flustered, but so far, nada-god-damn-mother-fuckin’ thing. Was it wrong to say he was turned on, cause god damn, he was  _ so fucking turned on.  _ She wasn’t goin’  _ anywhere.  _


	4. when all the giants fell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, thank you for the comments, kudos and bookmarks! i'm glad you're liking the story. these first few chapters were a bit all over the place; but now we've established the characters, plot and all that fun stuff. we can get back into canon timeline and even more a n g s t. 
> 
> as always, feel free to leave comments! who knows, maybe your ideas will help steer the story.

“I almost didn’t recognize her,” a soft, sullen voice echoed from the shadowy corners of the room. Mary watched the subtle rise and fall of Ava’s chest, red-rimmed eyes, tired from fighting off tears. The guilt she felt was insurmountable, how could a parent not realize when their own child stood before them? Ava was just a baby when Mary..- she closed her eyes and leaned backwards on the chair.

“.. I don’t even know how old she is.” Mary’s lids slowly lifted, baby blue’s landing on her son’s figure. Hunched over, hands buried in his face. The pain and culpability she was feeling nowhere neared the mountain of regret and agony Dean and Sam were dragging themselves across. Mary stood from the chair and closed the distance between herself and her oldest child, she hesitated before sinking beside him, wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulder. Her heart sank when Dean brushed her off, the cool indifference at her attempt at a condolence sent a tidal wave of emotion flooding through her system.  Mary was overwhelmed - mortified almost - her relationship with her kids was like a house of cards, flimsy at best, a shaky construction built on the fragile ideology that family was everything.

Mary said nothing, afraid that if she opened her mouth, the floodgate would break. Offering a squeeze of his shoulder, she stood and silently passed through the threshold. Leaving behind the ghost of her daughter, and the memory of a son she thought she knew. The energy in the kitchen was less solemn, Sam was seated at the table, nursing a cold bottle. Hazel eyes flickered upwards when Mary entered, he did his best to offer a smile, but the quick quirk of his lips did nothing to mask the suffering; it pressed heavily on the thin and carefully constructed visage of calmness. 

“How’re you holding up?” 

“Honestly?” She sighed, sliding in the seat adjacent, “-I don’t know.” Sam merely hummed in response, the crease in his forehead deepened, gaze lingering on her features, trying to decipher the mix of emotions she had tried her best to cover.

“How’s Dean doing?”

“Sam, what happened?” Mary deflected his question. She didn’t want to talk about Dean, the sting of his emotional indifference was still too fresh, surmising it might be best to let Sam speak. The dam of emotions all too fragile to broach. Mary watched the corner of his lips dip downwards, she could see him flicker through pages of memory, when he began to speak again, his voice was different, softer. As Sam regaled Mary with Ava’s exploits, she could only sit and listen in awe, it deepened her yearning to know her daughter.

* * *

Heavy footfall, deep, ragged breathing. The door slammed behind her, echoing through the empty warehouse, wild green eyes turned towards the two, bent over figures. Ava huffed, taking in lungfuls of air, the expansion of her chest ached deeply, but the pain in her body was the furthest thing from her mind. Taking a cursory glance around, Ava noted the single window, despite it sitting high above the three, shelves lining the wall gave relatively easy access to the escape. 

“The window,” she huffed out, both Sam and Dean’s gaze glanced upwards, finally seeing their way out. As she leaned against the door, the faint sounds of movement caused her lungs to constrict, voices, a deep growl. Doing the best to quell her panic, she forced her body against the door and motioned towards the shelving units.

“You guys go first, I won’t be able to lift you meatheads.” Her brothers shared a look before Dean shook his head.

“No, no way, Sam can go first, then he can pull you up-” Ava swallowed the lump in her throat, time was ticking away, the longer the two stood, deliberating about the plan. The less time  _ they  _ had to escape.

“Dean, if you don’t get your ass through that window, so help me God,” her tone left no room for discussion. Her brother gave her a long, hard stare. She was unflinching in the eye contact, “ _ now.”  _ The eldest Winchester conceded, the flimsy units creaked and groaned, protesting his presence. As Sam began his ascension, an animalistic growl ripped through the air, the wooden door cracked under the attack. Sam paused, craning his neck downward, he watched in horror as their last line of defense fell. 

“Go you idiot!” He continued climbing, despite every fiber in his being telling him to stop, drop and help his little sister on the ground. Sam heard the metal creak, hazel eyes met Ava’s green ones.  _ Gunshots, blood, silence.  _

* * *

“She knew it was coming..” His voice was quiet, eyes red with unshed tears. “She knew but didn’t say anything, Ava..” Sam fell silent, the air in the kitchen was heavy with grief.

“Y’know, she didn’t want anything to do with..with  _ this,”  _ Sam shook his head, lips pursed. “Ava was still in high school when dad went missing, she dropped everything for him, for us..”

“That’s exactly why we’re gonna figure this out.” A new voice introduced itself into the conversation,  _ Dean.  _

“She didn’t want anything to do with hunting, this, _our lifestyle,_ yet, we’re here and she’s not. Nose to the books, get Cas, get Crowley, hell, I don’t care if we have to get _Rowena,_ we’re gonna figure this out.”

* * *

Echoing footfall, the distant sound of life, Ava didn’t try to mask her curiosity. She glanced around, taking everything in. It was a monotonous gray, fluorescent lights flickered overhead. Her gaze never fell on the man in front of her, instead she focused on those who kneeled before him; earning their right to stand once more with a simple head nod, a grin, Ava didn’t comment, cracked lips pressed into a thin line, brows furrowed. The power Negan commanded was strange, overwhelming. She wasn’t scared though, nothing about him was particularly frightening. Well, perhaps the size of his ego, but that was another matter for another time. 

Walking into his office felt like stepping into a whole new world; despite it being sparsely decorated, it had a completely different feel from the rest of the facility. She was immediately drawn to the soft, plush looking couch. 

“Sit,”  _ don’t gotta tell me twice, chief.  _ Ava practically fell into the sofa, her body ached deeply, exhaustion was seductively cooing her in ear, doing its best to lull her into a sweet slumber. Ava’s head dipped slightly, lids fluttered. She did her best to fight back, blinking quickly, scrubbing her face with her palms. 

“Alright doll face-” Negan began, a generous glass of whiskey was passed her way, The seat beside her dipped, a leather clad armed tossed casually over the back of the seat. 

“It’s Ava,” taking a long pull from the glass, she chanced a brief glance his way. The same wolfish grin spread across his features. Mirth twinkled in his deep eyes. 

“So, you gonna tell me what the  _ fuck  _ you were doing out there?” 

“Nope,” a tense beat of silence, huffing laughter, he shook his head, lips pursed. 

* * *

Negan wasn’t a man easily impressed, but something about this woman had caught his interest. She looked awful, like battered and bruised hell, but honestly, his dick didn’t discriminate. More than anything, it was those beach ball sized lady fuckin nuts, that made  _ his  _ feel something. 

“We playing twenty questions or some shit?” Ava finished the glass, “or can I go?”

“Where the fuck ya gonna go?”

“... I don’t know, somewhere. Why the hell do  _ you  _ care.” When he didn’t respond, Ava nodded and pulled herself from the couch. However before the young woman could make her exit, Negan was upon her. Bodies pressed against one another, her arms pinned above her head, Ava met his gaze, unflinching at the sudden contact.

“We’re not  _ fuckin’  _ done here, dollface.”


End file.
